Why are there no bridges in East London?

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Written and created by

Edited by
JAY FOREMAN

Director

Director of Photography / additional animation
PAUL KENDLER

Camera Assistants
PAUL CURRAN
URS ROBBE

Ken Livingstone
ELODIE FRASER

Boris Johnson / Surfshark grandson
ALEX FRASER

Bird feeder
JADE NAGI

Kit provided by
SHIFT 4

Thanks to
JAGO HAZZARD for his clips of the Woolwich Ferry, and East London
original videos:

TOM SCOTT for his clips of Tower Bridge
(and doing the exploding road animation which I used previously in episode 2 in 2011)

@StrategicCities and @GartonHil for their clips of Sydney Harbour
@WillJarman8 for help with the thumbnail
@golfsaleriots for designing the Surfshark sweets packaging

For info on Hammersmith bridge, go to...

[GNZOU]

The Millennium Bridge didn't actually struggle to take the weight, they just accidentally didn't take into account the resonance effect of hundreds of pedestrians walking in step, the small vibrations of the bridge would produce a slight sway which made people start to step in time with the sway and that added to the effect.

[coolcatcartoons]

This series feels like it would be a BBC documentary series that would be on in the background in the morning some time in 2007, and I love everything about that.

[LondonTransport]

"In 1987, the government accidentally built an International airport"
Can relate. Happens all the time to me.

[derektaylor]

I worked on the Greenwich Penninsula in the run up to the Millenium; it was a very strange place in many ways- one minute you're next to houses worth millions, the next you're walking past some pretty grim streets. The river walkway from the Cutty Sark out to the Dome was not in a straight line but almost castellated- the remnants of all the old shipping of the era. But I can tell you with a degree of confidence that in respect of South of the Thames, no one calls themselves 'East London' no matter how far East they are. The concept of East London is most certainly a North London concept. I would be genuinely interested to learn whether other people agree or disagree.

[JagoHazzard]

What I normally do if I need to cross the river is jump in and pretend to drown. Then when the RNLI come, I hijack the lifeboat at gunpoint. It's great, they'll take you anywhere.

[EngineeringMindset]

I've lived in east London for many years, we need someone to make an Uber service for local boat owners, so we can cross the river or get into central. The Thames clipper service is obscenely expensive. £9.60 for a 430 meter trip 1 stop, from double tree to canary wharf and back. How?

[Technodreamer]

I've never been to London or even the island upon which it sits, but darn, these videos are just fascinating!

[smsmsmsmsmsm]

1. I used to live next to where the Wandsworth pedestrian bridge was supposed to be built - you can even see my house (one of the white houses right off the skyscraper). I lived on that side (Chelsea/Fulham) and my school was in Battersea. A 5 min walk in a straight line, yet a 30min drive when going over Battersea bridge. We were so excited to find they might build a pedestrian bridge since the train bridge already existed there.

2. I now live in Fulham near Putney Bridge and oh my god Hammersmith bridge being closed has caused so many issues. The pollution in the area has literally gone up because of it. They’re reopening it properly in a few years to cars, but they still won’t fix it permanently. It means they have to fix it for 3ish years and millions of pounds every 15 years or so, rather than just taking a few years to fix it properly. It annoys me how much the council mismanages funds.!

[Droidman]

My city, while very different than London, has an old, historic bridge that was deemed unfit for car's weight and made redundant by other nearby, larger crossings. They were going to tear it down but activists fought to make it a pedestrian and cyclist only bridge. It's one of the top focal points of the city now and allows me to live car-free (car-lite) on one side of the river while comfortably getting to services on the other side.

Edit: City is Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Bridge is the Walnut Street Bridge. Has it's own Wikipedia and Tripadvisor page haha

[MedlifeCrisis]

I had no idea that Ken’s bridge started construction! I used to always wonder why that random flyover between Tesco and the road to Asda even existed. It just went between parallel roads. Jokes aside, the cross river transport chaos is one of the reasons I left 😐

[benconneran]

The man just doesn't miss! He's been making this series almost half his life and he hasn't missed once! Incredible.

[RamanSingh-srpk]

In architecture achool we once had a lecture by a brilliant urban planner- Prasanna Desai, who said- “if you design for more cars, you will get more cars. So design for what you want.” That thought has stuck with me forever and resonates so well with your support of the unconventional connection bridges.

[andrewvictor]

The reason the Romans built a bridge where they did is that it was the furthest point up river that a vessel could readily get on the incoming tide. The area immediately downstream of the bridge was through much of history a flattish bank where ships could be beached and unloaded before floating off and going downstream on a rising tide. London Bridge was therefore as far downstream as one could build a bridge without impeding trade.

[betweenthedimensions]

Jay and Tom Scott are a great example of how two people from the same place can talk about essentially the same topics (Infrastructure) yet still be very unique.

[DiscountSeanConnery]

The riverbed in Valencia is a great and unique part of the city - acres of green space, fields for football or rugby, and paths for runners and cyclists. But draining the Thames would sort of ruin the whole Tower Bridge post card thing, yeah?

[SimpleShaun]

This is the first video of yours I have viewed (all hail the youtube algorithm), and I have to say I LOVE your storytelling. A well earned subscribe from me :)

[dylanthehopelessrema]

The Unfinished London series is so dense and fascinating and entertaining I wish there were a series like this for other cities.

[bethanygreenwood]

Jay, your videos were my gateway drug to pursuing Civil/Transport Engineering and Planning. Keep up the great content!

[darkrinji]

As a South East Londoner all of my life i massively appreciate the attention given to the lack of crossings, It's absolutely absurd. Silvertown tunnel having no cycle/pedestrian access is asinine when you consider how desperate Khan is to reduce emissions. All you have left are two shady tunnels with unreliable lift service and a Ferry that is equally unreliable due to strikes and the congestion buildup to get there.

[thomasmacdiarmid]

Clearly, the best answer to getting back and forth in east London would be paired sets of large trebuchets and giant bouncey castles to catch the cars on the opposite side. Quick, efficient, and a technological breakthrough in motor transport.